The Chicago Cubs were able to bounce back from yesterday's devastating loss by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers behind the strong outing of Paul Maholm, 5-4.Here is what we learned after this Cubs victory.Rafael Dolis will be the closer for now: The closer job was supposed to be up for grabs until Carlos Marmol is able to figure out his pitching issues, but it appears Dale Sveum is comfortable with having Dolis as the closer. His second save of the year was less entertaining, as he casually slammed the door shut on the Dodgers offense. Dolis appeared to gain confidence after each pitch he ...
When the 2011 MLB amateur draft came along, the Chicago Cubs, like all other teams, set their sights on drafting the best players to help build their organization. Whether utilizing these draftees as trade pieces or grooming them to one day be called up to the big leagues, the ultimate goal is to best equip their team for a run at the World Series. The following slideshow will highlight the Cubs' top three prospects that were chosen in the 2011 MLB amateur draft, but not the organization's overall top prospects. The three players to be discussed were the Cubs’ first-round, ...
Highlighting a bad performance from the previous night in baseball might seem like a harsh way to start the morning, but look at it this way: If you had a rough night or bad day, here's someone who may have had it worse.In what's been a rough year for closers, Chicago Cubs reliever Carlos Marmol has still managed to stand out for how he's blown games.In just 8.2 innings, Marmol has walked 12 batters. That gives him an average of 12.5 walks per nine innings. Those would be great strikeout numbers for a closer. However, we're talking about walks, and ...
The 2012 season has not started off well for the Chicago Cubs, who sit at the bottom of the NL Central division. Rebuilding mode has officially begun, and it will likely be a few years until the Cubs are in contention for any postseason position.But while the major league club is struggling, the future is bright for the Cubs as a whole. The farm system is promising and full of young talent, many of whom could be household names in a couple of years.Here are the 10 Cubs prospects with the most potential to make it big.Begin Slideshow
Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol cost the team a two-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds as he spoiled a strong outing by Ryan Dempster, who was recently activated from the disabled list, by fizzling in the ninth inning and allowing a Reds 4-3 victory. Here is what we learned and the questions we have after a frustrating Cubs loss. Will Carlos Marmol continue to be the closer? It's hard to believe that Marmol will continue to close after today's disaster, and he does not have the statistics to suggest he should. Marmol has looked awful all season as he blew his third save ...
Well it's another blown save for Chicago Cubs closer Carlos Marmol.Of course, he wasn't on the mound long enough this afternoon during the Cubs' 4-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds to even be credited with the blown save. That honor went to young reliever Rafael Dolis since he was the pitcher on the mound trying to mop up Marmol's wonderful ninth inning meltdown. Before the ninth, the Cubs seemingly had the game in hand.Ryan Dempster made his first start coming off of the DL today, throwing eight innings of three-hit, shutout baseball.Today was also Dempster's 35th birthday, along with Cincinnati Reds ...
Jeff Samardzija pitched 7 2/3 brilliant innings as the Chicago Cubs offense provided him just enough to earn him the victory over the Cincinnati Reds 3-1.The Cubs have won five of their last eight games. Could this possibly be a sign of good things to come?Here is what we learned and the questions we have after this Cubs victory.Is Jeff Samardzija the ace of the staff? Right now, that title belongs to Matt Garza, but Samardzija is proving the Cubs made the smart move by converting him into a starting pitcher this season. He tossed 7 2/3 innings while giving up one run on ...
At 29 years old, LaHair is way past being considered a prospect, and he has not been enough places to be called a journeyman. Drafted by the Mariners in 2002, LaHair slowly began his journey to the big leagues, stopping at every level and reaching Triple-A for the first time in 2006. At age 24, he was beginning his first season at Triple-A with only an aging Richie Sexson standing in his way.LaHair spent all of 2007 in Triple-A and hit an unimpressive .276 with 12 home runs and 126 strikeouts to 49 walks. He started 2008 with Triple-A but was ...
Well, the Chicago Cubs are not doing great.OK—things are bad. But we expected that, as this year is clearly a rebuilding year, and fans must find a way to trust the new regime under Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer.Things are not pretty now, as the team stands at 8-15, but fans have stood behind this team for the last 104 years, so no reason not to give things another year—or two.Some players have played well, but as a whole, the Cubs just clearly haven't been great. Hopefully things will start looking better sooner rather than later, but for now, this ...
When the Chicago Cubs brought in Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer in the offseason, it was expected a house cleaning would begin to take place. From front office positions, to the field, the dugout and the Cubs’ farm system, the new regime wanted to chart the Cubs on a course of a consistent winner. There has been talk the Epstein-Hoyer tandem may trade Matt Garza, among others, at the deadline to further their re-tooling of the Cubs franchise. However, trading a pitcher such as Garza for prospects may not be necessary to strengthen the future of the Cubs’ playoff hopes. ...
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